BOOT STRIPE

[JIM]

HAS ANYONE HAD SUCESS ON REPAINTING THE BOOT STRIPE. MINE NEEDS TO BE RE-PAINTED AND IM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST METHOD OF APPLYING IT. TAPE? OR PAINT. I SEEN A LOT OF PAINT JOBS THAT LOOK LIKE *#%@ AND I WANT A GOOD FINISH. ONE PROBLEM I DO HAVE IS THE EXISTING STRIPE IS TOO LOW SO IT'S UNDER WATER AT THE STERN AND BARNICLES GROW AT THAT PIONT.I CAN FIGURE WHERE THE NEW LINE SHOULD GO BUT I WANT TO HAVE A GOOD LOOKING FINISH. I DO HAVE AN AIRBRUSH AND CAN USE IT WOULD THAT BE BEST? THANKS IN ADVANCE.

 

[Chris Athanitis]

I buffed mine to a new shine

The boot strip on a catalina 22 is a different color gel coat. I just buffed mine with some rubbing compound and it shines almost like new. With regards to the water line I had the same issue. When I put on the bottom paint I just raised it up into the boot stripe. It looks fine. The boot strip is a bit narrower but it looks nice.Hope that helpsChris

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners.com]

Painting

You might try Chris' suggestion first but if that doesn't work for you, painting really isn't that difficult. Use ultra-thin fine line tape and take as much time as you need to get the line straight as possible (guaranteed nobody will notice slight warbles). Use Interlux' boot strip paint and add a little Penetrol. The Penetrol makes it go on a little thinner but it also "prevents" runs (as long as you don't lay it on too thick).LaDonna

 

[rp]

Use a decal

I had a Precision 23 for 5 years. The first year I had it, I removed the original Black boot stripe. I bought the blue stripes at WM. 5 Years later they looked like they were just installed. By the way, I kept this boat in the water for the whole summer and used it just about every weekend. You may want to put a decal over the 'painted' gelcoat to freshen it up.rp.

 

[Mike]

I painted over the orignial boot stripe on my C25. If you decide to paint over it make sure you follow these instructions.1- lightly sand the existing stripe to get all loose paint off and to create a good bonding area. Since mostly all boot stripes are a high gloss you need to sand to make an additional coat stick to it.2- once sanded, wipe the stripe down with a clean rag soaked in acetone. This is ensure that there is no wax buildup, cleans the sand residue and makes for an ideal area for paintingPaint away, I would use a polyutherane angled brush so you can get the line straight.